7 CFR § 3402.3 - Institutional eligibility.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t7/s3402.3"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "7 CFR § 3402.3 - Institutional eligibility."
title_number: 7
title_name: "Agriculture"
section_number: "3402.3"
section_name: "Institutional eligibility."
chapter_name: "NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE"
part_number: "3402"
part_name: "FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES NATIONAL NEEDS GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE FELLOWSHIP GRANTS PROGRAM"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "7 U.S.C. 3316."
regulatory_source: "69 FR 62537, Oct. 26, 2004, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "3402"
---


# 3402.3 Institutional eligibility.

Applications may be submitted by land-grant colleges and universities, by colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and by other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences. All applicants must be institutions that confer a graduate degree in at least one area of the food and agricultural sciences targeted for National Needs Fellowships, that have a significant on-going commitment to the food and agricultural sciences generally, and that have a significant ongoing commitment to the specific subject area for which a grant application is made. It is the objective to award grants to colleges and universities which have notable teaching and research competencies in the food and agricultural sciences. The Graduate Fellowships are specifically intended to support programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete a graduate degree at such institutions in an area of the food and agricultural sciences for which there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise. The postdoctoral Fellowships are designed to support academic programs that provide additional training and mentoring to USDA Graduate Fellows and have notable teaching and research competencies in the NIFA designated national need areas. Institutions which currently have excellent programs of graduate study and training in the food and agricultural sciences dealing with targeted national needs are particularly encouraged to apply for all National Needs Fellowships.